Q: What return on investment can we expect?

Estimates range from approximately 10:1 based on attendance gains alone, to 20:1 or higher when cost avoidance is included. Cost avoidance arises from fewer EHCP applications, fewer alternative provision placements, fewer specialist referrals, and reduced demand on clinical services. Within the first year, around half of schools report reduced need to refer to statutory assessment or alternative provision. The investment for a typical partnership is recovered by preventing a small number of escalations across the whole system.

Q: How quickly do we see results?

Effects on attendance emerge approximately 10-12 weeks after training begins, and strengthen over time as more staff progress through the programme. Workforce outcomes (confidence, knowledge, awareness) are measured immediately through validated pre-post surveys and show gains of 23-44% across the trained workforce. The first steering group review of progress data typically takes place within three months. The programme is designed so that Year 2 generates stronger outcomes than Year 1 as EBSA-informed practice becomes embedded across more schools and more roles.

Q: How does this reduce costs across the system?

When schools understand and respond to EBSA earlier, fewer children deteriorate to the point where escalation is required. For Local Authorities, this means fewer EHCP assessments, fewer alternative provision placements, and reduced pressure on the High Needs Block. For trusts, it means fewer exclusions, fewer managed moves, and reduced spend on specialist provision. For health services, it means fewer children reaching clinical threshold and reduced demand on CAMHS and specialist pathways. In each case, a single avoided placement saves upwards of £50,000 per year, and the financial return compounds annually.

Q: Can we use the impact data for Ofsted, DfE returns, or Board reporting?

Yes. Impact data is structured for multiple reporting contexts: elected member briefings, DfE statutory attendance returns, Ofsted inspection preparation, trust Board papers, Regional Director conversations, and ICB Board reporting. The data includes training completion across every school and service, pre-post workforce outcome measures, and attendance analysis at authority or trust level. You do not need to commission additional evaluation or reformat the data for different audiences.

Question 1

What is EBSA Horizons?

Accepted Answer

EBSA Horizons is a two-year partnership that trains school staff, local authority and health professionals, and families to understand and respond to Emotionally Based School Avoidance. It consists of three interconnected programmes designed to create a shared understanding of EBSA across an entire system. The partnership includes monthly steering group meetings with a psychology team, managed delivery across all schools and services, live reporting dashboards, and impact evaluation built in from the start.

Question 2

How is this different from buying a training course?

Accepted Answer

A training course transfers knowledge to individuals. EBSA Horizons is a partnership that trains the whole system — school staff at three levels, the professionals around them, and the families at home — so that everyone working with a child shares the same understanding and the same approach. Registration, progress tracking, re-engagement, and reporting are managed for you. The partnership includes strategic oversight through monthly steering group meetings, live dashboards, and rigorous impact evaluation. The difference is between individual CPD and system-level culture change.

Question 3

What do the three programmes cover?

Accepted Answer

School Training provides three tiers: Level 1 (whole-school awareness for all staff, approximately 45-60 minutes), Level 2 (targeted skills for pastoral and SEND staff, approximately 3 hours), and Level 3 (specialist practice for school EBSA leads, approximately 6 hours). Professional Training covers EPs, social workers, Virtual School staff, attendance officers, MHST practitioners, and other professionals working across schools. Family Horizons is a five-chapter programme for parents and carers, supporting understanding and confidence at home. Every programme is self-paced and flexible.

Question 4

How does this fit with what we already have in place?

Accepted Answer

The partnership is designed to integrate with your existing strategy, not replace it. Whether that is a graduated response framework, a trust-wide inclusion strategy, an MHST deployment plan, or a local attendance improvement initiative, EBSA Horizons is configured during the strategic alignment phase to complement and strengthen what you already have. We can also facilitate your existing initiatives through the platform, reducing the administration involved in running them and improving their reach, efficiency, and impact. Monthly steering group meetings ensure the work stays connected to your priorities as they evolve.

Question 5

Can we start mid-year or do we need to wait for September?

Accepted Answer

You can start at any point in the academic year. The delivery platform operates continuously and is not tied to term dates. Several partner areas have launched mid-year successfully. The strategic alignment phase adapts to your existing calendar and priorities.

Question 6

What evidence is behind the impact claims?

Accepted Answer

Impact is evaluated using quasi-experimental methods applied to DfE published attendance data, comparing partner areas against matched non-participating areas. The primary analytical method is difference-in-differences with national and regional controls. Findings are statistically significant (p < 0.001), and placebo tests on pre-training years confirm that the training-year effect is substantially larger than anything observed before the programme existed. The illness absence reduction finding has been confirmed across multiple partner settings. University-based independent replication is being arranged.

Question 7

What return on investment can we expect?

Accepted Answer

Estimates range from approximately 10:1 based on attendance gains alone, to 20:1 or higher when cost avoidance is included. Cost avoidance arises from fewer EHCP applications, fewer alternative provision placements, fewer specialist referrals, and reduced demand on clinical services. Within the first year, around half of schools report reduced need to refer to statutory assessment or alternative provision. The investment for a typical partnership is recovered by preventing a small number of escalations across the whole system.

Question 8

How quickly do we see results?

Accepted Answer

Effects on attendance emerge approximately 10-12 weeks after training begins, and strengthen over time as more staff progress through the programme. Workforce outcomes (confidence, knowledge, awareness) are measured immediately through validated pre-post surveys and show gains of 23-44% across the trained workforce. The first steering group review of progress data typically takes place within three months. The programme is designed so that Year 2 generates stronger outcomes than Year 1 as EBSA-informed practice becomes embedded across more schools and more roles.

Question 9

How does this reduce costs across the system?

Accepted Answer

When schools understand and respond to EBSA earlier, fewer children deteriorate to the point where escalation is required. For Local Authorities, this means fewer EHCP assessments, fewer alternative provision placements, and reduced pressure on the High Needs Block. For trusts, it means fewer exclusions, fewer managed moves, and reduced spend on specialist provision. For health services, it means fewer children reaching clinical threshold and reduced demand on CAMHS and specialist pathways. In each case, a single avoided placement saves upwards of £50,000 per year, and the financial return compounds annually.

Question 10

Can we use the impact data for Ofsted, DfE returns, or Board reporting?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Impact data is structured for multiple reporting contexts: elected member briefings, DfE statutory attendance returns, Ofsted inspection preparation, trust Board papers, Regional Director conversations, and ICB Board reporting. The data includes training completion across every school and service, pre-post workforce outcome measures, and attendance analysis at authority or trust level. You do not need to commission additional evaluation or reformat the data for different audiences.

Question 11

Who else is doing this?

Accepted Answer

EBSA Horizons is currently commissioned by over 12 Local Authorities and trusts across the UK, with four partnerships running for over a year. All are available as references. Partner areas span different sizes, demographics, and geographies. The findings have been consistent across settings, which strengthens the evidence base with each new partnership.

Question 12

Who designs and delivers the programme?

Accepted Answer

Every element of EBSA Horizons is designed and delivered by practising Educational and Child Psychologists. The people who authored the training content, built the assessment tools, and developed the delivery model are the same people who sit in your steering group meetings throughout the partnership. The psychology team maintains a current clinical caseload alongside their EBSA Horizons work, keeping their practice grounded in the realities of frontline delivery. The programme is neurodiversity-affirming, evidence-based, and regularly updated in response to emerging research and partner feedback.

Question 13

Is the training accredited or certified?

Accepted Answer

Schools progress through an accreditation pathway with three stages: EBSA Aware, EBSA Friendly, and EBSA Champion. Each stage reflects increasing depth of training completion and practice implementation across the school. These milestones provide structured evidence of a coordinated approach that can be presented during Ofsted inspection or used in Board reporting. The pathway creates visible progression that schools, trusts, and authorities can track and celebrate.

Question 14

How do we get started?

Accepted Answer

Book a 30-minute strategic discussion with our psychology team. We will explore your current priorities together, share relevant impact data from comparable settings, and discuss how the partnership would work in your context. If you decide to proceed, the strategic alignment phase can begin quickly. We are happy to support whatever commissioning process your organisation requires.

Question 15

What does our team need to do?

Accepted Answer

The partnership is designed to minimise demand on your team. The strategic lead (typically a Head of SEND, Director of Inclusion, or equivalent) attends monthly steering group meetings with the psychology team. We often convene a broader steering group that brings together specialists, heads of services, and school representatives from across the system. This becomes a valuable multi-agency forum in its own right, leading to more joined-up and targeted approaches to EBSA beyond the training itself. The steering group typically takes approximately 2 hours per month. Beyond that, you may spend around 30 minutes per month sharing pre-written communications with schools and services. Registration, progress tracking, re-engagement, follow-up, and reporting are all managed for you.

Question 16

What happens if schools are slower to engage?

Accepted Answer

We understand that schools are under significant pressure, and engagement with any new initiative depends on capacity, timing, and the priorities a school is managing at that point. Some schools engage immediately, while others need more time. Our approach is supportive rather than punitive. Staff who have paused receive encouraging follow-up at key moments, and schools that have not yet started are offered flexible entry points that work around their existing commitments. The accreditation pathway (EBSA Aware, Friendly, Champion) creates positive recognition as schools progress, which builds motivation across the system. Where a school remains at an early stage, the psychology team works with your strategic lead to understand what might be getting in the way and to find an approach that works for that school's context.

Question 17

What happens when new staff join mid-year?

Accepted Answer

New staff joining any school during the partnership are automatically added to the training pathway. This means schools do not lose ground through staff turnover. It also means the programme's reach continues to grow throughout the partnership, as every new appointment adds to the trained workforce.

Question 18

How does data sharing work across education and health?

Accepted Answer

Impact data is reported at aggregate level (school, authority, or trust). No individual pupil data is collected or shared by the programme. Attendance outcomes are derived from DfE published data, not from individual school records. This means there are no data-sharing agreements required between education and health partners for the evaluation to operate. Where health and education are commissioning together, the reporting can be structured to serve both ICB Board and local authority governance requirements.

Question 19

What happens after the two years?

Accepted Answer

The training, tools, and assessment frameworks remain accessible. Schools that have reached EBSA Friendly or Champion status have embedded specialist knowledge within their own staff that persists beyond the partnership. The workforce understanding built over two years does not disappear when the contract ends. Renewal partnerships are available for authorities and trusts that wish to maintain strategic oversight, continue accessing updated content, and extend training to new staff and new schools.

Question 20

How do we know the impact is sustained?

Accepted Answer

The evidence shows that attendance effects strengthen over time rather than fading, as more staff complete training and EBSA-informed practice becomes the norm rather than the exception. Partner authorities with the longest partnerships show the strongest outcomes. Post-partnership sustainability data is being collected and will be available as partnerships mature. The programme is designed so that the capacity built within schools and services outlasts the formal partnership period.

Frequently Asked Questions